Crimes That Shook Britain: The murder of Sarah Payne

The murder of Sarah Payne caused a national outcry because of perpetrator Roy Whiting's lenient sentence for a previous conviction. Whiting was one of the first people ever to be included on the Sex Offenders Register

Eight-year-old Sarah Payne was last seen alive playing near her grandparents home in the village of Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, on 1 July 2000.

It was a beautiful sunny day and Sarah, who had been visiting her grandparents during the school holidays, had gone to play in a field of tall corn with her two brothers and her 13-year-old sister.

The children had been playing hide and seek in the tall crops, so when Sarah vanished, her family at first thought she was hiding.

But as the hours dragged on and she did not re-appear fears grew for her safety. The following day, when she had not turned up or contacted any of her family, police launched a huge search for her.

Although they hoped for a happy outcome, experienced detectives in the Sussex force feared she might have been abducted by a predatory paedophile.

They started by checking on any suspects who may have had a history of sex offences against children who were living in the West Sussex area.

One of the first to be seen was 41-year-old Roy Whiting who lived in the nearby town of Littlehampton, about five miles from where Sarah had last been seen.

Killer: Roy Whiting was convicted of Sarah Payne's murder (Image: PA)

Five years earlier he had abducted and seriously sexually attacked an 8-year-old girl in the nearby village of Langley Green.

He got caught after police issued an appeal in the media about a man driving a red Ford Sierra. A witness informed police that Whiting had just hurriedly sold such a vehicle.

Three months later, Whiting admitted charges of abduction and indecent assault. The maximum sentence for his crime could have been a life term, and a psychiatrist who examined him told the court that he was a man who was likely to re-offend when he was released.

But because Whiting had been co-operative and pleaded guilty straight away, the judge displayed leniency and he received a jail term of just four years.

It meant that Whiting would serve just over half of his sentence. He was released in November 1997. In fact, he could have been released even earlier but he was made to serve an additional five months behind bars because he refused to go on a sex offenders rehabilitation course.

However, when he was freed, Whiting became one of the first people in Britain to be placed on the newly set up Sex Offenders Register, legislation that meant he had to tell police where he was living - and fulfil other conditions.

Mourning: Sara and Michael Payne at the funeral of their daughter Sarah in August 2000 (Image: Roger Allen)

When the investigating officers asked him what he knew about Sarah Payne, he told them he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

But the detectives formed the view he was acting like a man with something to hide.

After questioning him, officers saw him driving off in a white van, a vehicle he had not disclosed he owned. He was stopped and arrested.

Asked to say where he was when Sarah disappeared Whiting said he had been at a fun fair at Hove at the time and had gone home at about 9pm.

But a petrol receipt found at his home showed he had been at a garage in Pulborough, which contradicted his alibi.

As no body had been found and there was no evidence linking him to Sarah, Whiting was released on bail, but the petrol receipt was to take on huge significance later.

On July 17, Sarah’s body was found in undergrowth by the side of a field near Pulborough, about 15 miles from where she had disappeared and only three miles from the garage where the receipt showed Whiting had bought fuel on July 1.

Crime scene: Sarah's body was found just north of Pulborough in West Sussex (Image: PA)

Police re-arrested Whiting, but a search of his home and his van yielded no fresh clues and he was once again allowed to go.

Then he did something foolish that helped the investigation. He stole a Vauxhall Nova car, and when spotted by police, a high-speed chase developed.

Whiting was finally caught after he crashed into another car. He was jailed for 22 months for stealing the car and dangerous driving.

With the main suspect in prison, police had more time to carry out scientific tests on his Fiat Ducato van.

One strand of blonde hair was found on a man’s tee shirt in the back. DNA tests showed the chances of it NOT belonging to Sarah were a billion to one.

But more crucial scientific evidence was to follow.

When Sarah’s body was found her clothes were missing. But a member of the public found a child’s shoe in a country lane and handed it to the police.

The shoe was subjected to the most up-to-date forensic examination, and on it were fibres that matched a carpet in the back of Whiting’s van.

In the dock: Roy Whiting arriving at Lewes Crown Court (Image: PA)

Charged with murder, Whiting appeared at Lewes Crown Court for trial in February 2001. The proceedings lasted for a month, at the end of which the jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to life in jail. The judge recommended that Whiting should serve fifty years, not being released until he was 92.